CXMT South Korean prosecutors indict 10 individuals, including former Samsung Electronics executives and engineers, for allegedly leaking advanced 10nm-class DRAM technology to China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies . Authorities announce this major industrial espionage case in late December 2025, highlighting risks to national economic security in the global semiconductor race.
Details of the Alleged Leak
CXMT recruits a former Samsung vice-president as its research head shortly after founding in 2016. He allegedly poaches key engineers and obtains proprietary data, including handwritten notes detailing hundreds of manufacturing process steps to evade detection.
Prosecutors reveal one researcher manually copies critical recipes—covering equipment specs, sequencing, and yield optimization—before joining it. Additionally, the stolen tech includes contributions from SK Hynix via a supplier, accelerating CXMT’s progress.
Impact on CXMT and China’s Chip Ambitions
The leaked technology enables CXMT to mass-produce China’s first 10nm-class DRAM in 2023. It also lays groundwork for HBM2 production in 2024, positioning CXMT to capture up to 15% of the high-bandwidth memory market essential for AI.
Samsung invests around 1.6 trillion won over five years in the stolen processes. Prosecutors estimate damages to Samsung and South Korea’s economy in the tens of trillions of won.
